Who gets breast implants, and why? Is it worth it for them? Have you wondered this? Or, more specifically, have you wondered if you are typical of a woman seeking breast implants?
Typical Breast Augmentation Patients
There are a few distinct populations of women who are interested in breast implants, says Grant Stevens, M.D., F.A.C.S., medical director of Marina Plastic Surgery in Marina del Rey, CA. First, there are women who have really never had breasts. “They’re usually A cup, and they are often young—in their early 20s—and they say, ‘my mom/sister finally got breast implants and I don’t want to keep stuffing my bras.’ They usually go A to C,” he says.
The other two groups of women are women who have had children. The first group is women who had nice breasts before children—but after breastfeeding, they’re left with much smaller breasts that feel “scooped out.” And finally, there are women who had small breasts before children, but when they were pregnant and breastfeeding, they experienced what it was like to have larger breasts—and they loved it. “These are the women who have experienced it naturally, and they bring in the picture of their breasts when they were breastfeeding, and say: ‘I want to look like this again,’” Dr. Stevens says.
Patient Satisfaction with Breast Implants
What unites all of these groups of women is one thing: they don’t regret it. “This is where breast augmentation is off the charts: patient satisfaction,” Dr. Stevens says. It’s surgery, yes. There are risks, yes. It takes time to heal, yes. But even given all of those things, the results still speak volumes.
Getting breast implants affects several areas of a woman’s life, from practical things (like bra shopping) to self-esteem. Here are some of the things that women who get breast implants most often notice.
• Increased confidence. Breast implants can help a woman create a different impression of herself. If she’s felt that smaller breasts have held her back, it can feel very liberating. Regardless if it’s true or not, it’s all about perception. If you feel more confident in yourself—for whatever reason—you radiate confidence.
• More clothing options. When you’ve gone most of your adult life with small breasts (save, perhaps, for pregnancy), there are certain types of clothing you never feel comfortable in—yet long to wear. “Women with implants get to expand the horizon of what they can wear,” Dr. Stevens says. And they no longer have to worry about pads popping out of their bra.
• New appreciation of sexuality. Larger breasts can help ignite a woman’s sexuality. There is a misperception that it’s all about pleasing men and arousing men. But for many women, getting implants is all about their own sense of sexuality.
• Sense of being “worth” it. Breast implants are an investment. Many women dream about it for years, keeping it in the back of their minds as they have children. But they’re so busy with kids and solving everyone else’s problems that they neglect their own needs and wants. Making the decision to get breast implants feels like a way to reclaim that part of them, pre-kids, pre-marriage, pre-super mom. Sometimes, it’s part of a larger “mommy makeover” package: it’s something they want for themselves (and may have wanted for a long time) and they’re finally making the investment and believing they are worth it.
Getting breast implants can’t wipe out every inadequacy issue a woman has. It can’t secure a lifetime of happy marriage. It can’t guarantee happiness, or negate aspects of aging that we all face. But implants can be a powerful tool for increasing confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth—and that can make all the difference.
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